Weather and flame resistant composition for fibrous materials, &amp;c.



rrnn s'rarns PATENT OFFICE.

SUMNER R. CHURCH, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO BARRETT MANUFAC-TURING COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

WEATHER AND FLAME RESISTANT COMPOSITION FOR FIBROUS MATERIALS, &c.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 30, 1915.

No Drawing Original application filed June 16, 1915, Serial No. 34,485.Divide-'1 and this application filed September 18, 1915.

To all whom it may concern 7 Be it known that I, SUMNER R. CHURCH, acitizen of the United States, residing in Brcokl n, county of Kings, andState of.

New ork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Weatherand Flame Resistant Compositions for Fibrous Materials, &c., of whichthe following is a specification, this application being a divisionalapplication of my copending application, Serial No. 34,485, filed June16, 1915, and relating to the intermediate product originally claimed insaid application.

This invention relates to the treatment of fibrous materials generallyand particularly to wood such as shingles and the like, which uponexposure to the elements become checked and warped and gradually decaywith the resultant production of highly inflammable material, and hasfor its object imparting to said materials an extremely durable andattractive finish, which is not only waterproof but which is highly.fiameresistant. As a result I am able to produce a material which willresist the inception or spread of conflagration and will preserve itsoriginal appearance and properties for periods greatly in excess of thenormal life of such materials when untreated and exposed to the severeaction of the weather. I am aware that heretofore it has been proposedto fireproof materials of this general nature by means of chlorinatednaphthalene, such for example as described in British Patent No. 7398 of1898, German Patent 46201 of 1889, and United States Patents Nos.914,300 and 914,222 of March 2, 1909, but such fireproofing does notserve to render the products treated sufliciently waterproof to preservethe same against checking, decay or warping upon exposure to theatmosphere, nor is it possible to obtain there- ,by an attractivefinishupon the materials wood fibers, and besides this pigment could not besatisfactorily incorporated therewith in order to produce a suitablestam or finish Serial No. 51,455.

for wood and like fibrous materials. Moreover, the large quantity ofthese materials wh ch is required by such method of application and thehigh cost of the materials themselves render such treatment almost proh1bitive. If these chlorination products are d1ssolved in commercialsolvents such as suggested in the aforesaid patents of the prior art, towit, naphtha, chloroform or carbon tetrachlorid, the amount of the samewhich is contained in the saturated solution is so limited, owing to theditlicult solubility of these products in such solvents, that thesolutions are wholly unsatisfactory for waterproofing or fiberproofingto the desired degree, such wood products, especialy shingles, whichlatter as is known gradually become highly inflammable owing to thefurred or moss-like surfaces produced by prolonged exposure to theelements. Moreover, when'applied in such solutions to shingles orsurfaces of other fibrous materials such as fiber boards, and the likeused for decorative purposes, chlorinated naphthalene often crystallizesout in irregular blotches or patches upon the surface, rendering to thesame an unsightly appearance which makes it wholly unsuitable forgeneral use, as an attractive finish is to render the same suitable forsuperficial application to shingles, wood, fiber board and othersuitable fibrous materials, and to impart to the same satisfactoryfireproofing as well as preservative qualities as hereinafter described,but that it is also possible to produce a remarkable and extremelydurable and attractive finish upon wood and other fibrous materials.These results have heretofore been considered impossible of achievementwith any known materials upon wood especially. The aforesaid product ofthe combination of the chlornaphthalene body such ashexachlornaphthalene, with r A r u wax-tailings, is entirelyhomogeneous. It is much moreunctuous and fluent thanhexachlornaphthalene alone. Moreover, the tendency ofhexachlornaphthalene or like bodies to crystallize out of solution or toirregularly deposit in crystalline form upon the surfaces of wood orfibrous materials treated therewith, is entirely obviated when arequisite quantity of wax-tailings is employed. As a result of myinvention moreover, it is possible to incorporate pigments ground in oilwith such chlorination products whereby the pleasing appearances andcolor of the best qaulity of creosote stains,

as well as the highest degree of preservative, waterproofing andfireproofing properties can-be obtained. In addition to this theaforesaid mixture has a viscosity which exceeds that of the ordinarystains, and in this respect substantially differs from the straightsolution of hexachlornaphthalene in the commercial solvents as abovementioned, and owing to the large content of the solids therein, it ispossible to satisfactorily paint or superficially apply the same tofibrous materials such as wood, and the like, in which it is desired toretain as much as possible the coating upon the surface and preventexcessive penetration of the same into the fibers.

The following is an example of the pro- 'cedure in accordance with myinvention 1000 1bs. chlorinated naphthalene (substantiallyhexachlornaphthalene) and 350 lbs. of wax-tailing, are first fusedtogether while constantly stirred in a suitable vessel heated in anysuitable manner as by means of a steam jacket or steam coils, to atemperature of from 120 to 150 C. After these ma terials have beencompletely fused or melted the temperature thereof is lowered to about100 C. and the melt is digested with a solvent mixture comprising 820lbs. heavy coal tar naphtha and 135 lbs. of carbon tetrachlorid. For thedigestion step it is preferable that the vessel be provided with thewell known return-condenser and to keep the temperature of the mixturebelow 80 to 90 C. After the digestion is completed the mixture is cooledto room-temperature and the resultant for use.

The aforesaid wax-tailings possess the peculiar properties of serving aswhat might be termed a semi-solid or fixed solvent for thehexachlornaphthalene and as a consequence there is a marked increase inthe percentage of such hexachlornaphthalene in solution in the volatilesolvents employed over that obtainable by the direct solution involatile solvents alone. For example, the heavy coal tar naphtha thereinreferred to, which product has been found to possess the highest solventpower of any common solvent, will dissolve substantially equal partsproduct is ready by weight of hexachlornaphthalene, but on the otherhand, as shown by the foregoing formula, a homogeneous solution of thechlorination product is obtained which contains 220 parts of chlorinatednaphthalene to every 100 parts of volatile solvent. In addition to thisthere are substantially 77 parts of wax-tailings in the fixed ornonvolatile product making a total of 297 parts ofsuch non-volatileingredients to every 100 parts of volatile solvents. This saturatedsolution of hexachlornaphthalene-waxtailings in heavy coal tar naphthaand carbon tetrachlorid is so viscous and contain such a high proportionof non-volatile ingredients, that upon evaporation of the solvent asufiicient body of waxis left in the fiber and on the surface of theshingle to render it not only waterproof but highly fire-resistant.Moreover, the treated material, has, as previously stated, anextraordinarily pleasing appearance which appearance is preserved forlong periods of time even upon exposure to the drastic action of theweather.

The wax-tailings herein referred to is generally obtained from thedestructive distillation of so-called petroleum tar. It is a very stickymaterial, varying from yellow to a greenish color. It is extremelyresistant to oxidation, and owing to the high temperature at which it isproduced, is very nonvolatile in character.

Heavy coal tar naphtha herein referred to comprises the product obtainedby refining distillates from coal-tar or water gas tar. It boilssubstantially between 130 and 200 0..

While my preferred fixed (2'. e. non-volatile) solvent comprisespreferably waxtailings, because of the very remarkable results obtainedtherewith, as hereinbefore described, the expression combustible Wax"product as used in the annexed claims, is intended to include otherfixed or non-volatile solvents of hexachlornaphthalene whichsubstantially correspond in their properties to the herein describedproperties of waxtailings and which are capable of serving as suitablesubstitutes for such wax-tai1ings as solid or fixed solvents ofhexachlornaphthalene in the manufacture of weather and flame resistantfibers such as shingles, etc., as herein described.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim and desire to secure byLettersPatent is 1. The intermediate product comprising of anincombustible waxy body, the latter serving as a non-volatile solvent ofthe ][former combined with a combustible waxy ody.

2. The intermediate product comprising of an incombustible waxy bodymixed with a combustible Waxy body, the latter serving as a non-volatilesolvent of the former, and

a volatile solvent therefor.

5. The intermediate product comprising 7 of a hex-achlornaphthalenemixed with a combustible waxy body, the latter serving as a non-v0latilesolvent of the former.

6. The intermediate product comprising of a waxy chlorinated naphthalenemixed with a combustible waxy body, the latter Copies 0! this patent maybe obtainedfor 30, an improvement in claim, line 126, "after the wordPatent [SEAL] five cents each, Wash n on. D. C.

claims 3-7, strike out the word of body insert the words combined with acombustible waxy body;

former insert a period; lines 126-127, strike out the words combinedwith a combustible waxy body;

should be read with these corrections therein that the same may conformto the record of the case in the Patent Oflice.

Signed and sealed this 25th day of January, A. D.,

serving as a non-volatile solvent of the former, and a volatile solventtherefor.

7. The intermediate product comprising of a waxy hexachlornaphthalenebody combined with a waxy body having suiiiciently the same solventaction upon poly-chlornaphthalene products as to render the same anequivalent of wax tailings for such purposes and a volatile solventtherefor.

8. The intermediate product comprising a solution containing more than60% by weight of a chlorinated naphthalene body conforming substantiallyto hexachlornaphthalene, and more than 15% by weight of wax-tailings.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand at the city, county andState of New York, this 16 day of Sept. 1915.

' SUMNER R. CHURCH.

by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,162,453, grantedNovember 1915, upon the application of SumnerR. Church, of Brooklyn, NewYork, for

Weather and Flame Resistant Compositions for Fibrous Materials, &c.,errors appear in the printed specification requiring correction asfollows: Page 2, lines 124 and 129, claims 1 and 2, page 3, lines 4, 9,14, 18, and 23, page 2, line 124, claim 1, after the word same page andand that the said Letters R. F. WHITEHEAD,

Acting Commissioner of Patents.

